Jim%252520Piascik Archive

Welcome to the 2015 IBI preview capsules! In order to prepare for the upcoming season, IBI will have a preview capsule running for every player on the 40-man roster and selected non-roster invites. To mix things up, we will be running these roughly in alphabetical order. Next up is right-handed starter Cody Anderson.

Welcome to the 2015 IBI preview capsules! In order to prepare for the upcoming season, IBI will have a preview capsule running for every player on the 40-man roster and selected non-roster invites. To mix things up, we will be running these roughly in alphabetical order. Next up is right-handed reliever Cody Allen.

Welcome to the 2015 IBI preview capsules! In order to prepare for the upcoming season, IBI will have a preview capsule running for every player on the 40-man roster and selected non-roster invites. To mix things up, we will be running these roughly in alphabetical order. Next up is first baseman Jesus Aguilar.

Welcome to the 2015 IBI preview capsules! In order to prepare for the upcoming season, IBI will have a preview capsule running for every player on the 40-man roster and selected non-roster invites. To mix things up, we will be running these roughly in alphabetical order. First up is Austin Adams.

Another exciting year has come and gone in Cleveland, with plenty of highs and lows at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario. There was a Cy Young Award winner on the mound and two big offseason signings going dud. There was an MVP candidate in the outfield and a former ace getting hurt and eventually traded. All in all, while 2014 did not end in a playoff berth like 2013, it was still a special year, one that Jim Piascik remembers through the lens of The LEGO Movie.

Over at Fangraphs, most of the best publicly available projection systems are readily available for you to view, free of charge. Plus, in addition to the raw projections for each player, Fangraphs maintains a projected depth chart, which parses out the available playing time in a full season to the players most likely to receive it in the coming year. Join Jim Piascik as he looks at what Fangraphs expects out of Cleveland in 2015 and where the team ranks compared to the rest of the league.

A few winter ball teams are starting to play out the string, which means it is time to look to the future and let the young players get some time. A few Cleveland farmhands have been the beneficiary of that, with Alexis Pantoja in particular making his first start in six weeks down in Puerto Rico. Join Jim Piascik as he checks in on players like Pantoja, looks at the continued dominance of Giovanni Soto, and much more as he goes across the globe and takes you Around the Farm.

The WAR Room is back again, bringing you the 2014 advanced stats for every Cleveland minor leaguer. With the minor league seasons at an end and the seasons in review finished, The WAR Room moves to ranking the top-100 prospects in 2014 based on performance. But instead of just listing based on pure performance, there is a twist to make the rankings more relevant. Join Jim Piascik as he brings you part four, including a bunch of potential impact relievers in Ben Heller, Kyle Crockett, J.P. Feyereisen, and Giovanni Soto and much more as he takes you into The WAR Room.

The WAR Room is back again, bringing you the 2014 advanced stats for every Cleveland minor leaguer. With the minor league seasons at an end and the seasons in review finished, The WAR Room moves to ranking the top-100 prospects in 2014 based on performance. But instead of just listing based on pure performance, there is a twist to make the rankings more relevant. Join Jim Piascik as he brings you part three, including a bunch of 2014 draft picks in Arizona and Mahoning Valley, Jerrud Sabourin and Bryson Myles’ Double-A debuts, and much more as he takes you into The WAR Room.

One of the hallmarks of Cleveland’s minor league system is it’s up-the-middle depth, a characteristic that was on full display Thursday. Whether it was Roberto Perez showing some pop, Ronny Rodriguez serving as a sparkplug off of the bench, or someone else, Cleveland’s up-the-middle depth looked good. Join Jim Piascik as he breaks it down and takes you across the globe as he takes you Around the Farm.

Wednesday saw another Cleveland minor leaguer make his first appearance in nearly two months, with Charlie Valerio returning to game action. On the opposite end of the spectrum, one of the stars of the offseason for Cleveland -- Giovanni Soto -- took his usual turn in the rotation, his first appearance since going unselected in the Rule 5 draft last week Join Jim Piascik as he breaks down Valerio’s return, Soto’s start, and much more as he takes you Around the Farm.

The WAR Room is back again, bringing you the 2014 advanced stats for every Cleveland minor leaguer. With the minor league seasons at an end and the seasons in review finished, The WAR Room moves to ranking the top-100 prospects in 2014 based on performance. But instead of just listing based on pure performance, there is a twist to make the rankings more relevant. Join Jim Piascik as he brings you part two, including a depth starter in Josh Tomlin, depth relievers like Austin Adams and Enosil Tejeda, and much more as he takes you into The WAR Room.

It was a quiet night on the farm for Cleveland prospects, as the four players in action were mostly supporting actors in their games as opposed to the leads. That does not mean their performances were not interesting, however, Join Jim Piascik as he takes a look at Audy Ciriaco’s offseason to date, checks in on Anthony Gallas, and much more as he takes you Around the Farm.

The Rule 5 draft takes place today, and while no Cleveland player is guaranteed to be drafted, the name on people’s lips is Giovanni Soto. The left-hander got one more chance to show other teams what he can do Wednesday night, making another start down in Puerto Rico. Join Jim Piascik as he recaps Soto’s start and the rest of the action from across the globe as he takes you Around the Farm.

As the hot stove season heats up, it seems the Cleveland player eliciting the most decisive opinions is Jose Ramirez. Which raises the question: just what does Cleveland have in Jose Ramirez? Join Jim Piascik as he looks at what Ramirez has done as a major leaguer already, what he could be in the future, and whether or not trading him away this offseason makes sense for the organization.

The WAR Room is back again, bringing you the 2014 advanced stats for every Cleveland minor leaguer. With the minor league seasons at an end and the seasons in review finished, The WAR Room moves to ranking the top-100 prospects in 2014 based on performance. But instead of just listing based on pure performance, there is a twist to make the rankings more relevant. Join Jim Piascik as he brings you part one, including a player recently lost to the Phillies in Elvis Araujo, a speedy outfielder in Silento Sayles, and much more as he takes you into The WAR Room.

Rain delays messed with the box scores Wednesday night, leading to some Giovanni Soto confusion. Soto did not actually throw Wednesday (his innings happened way back on November 21), but he was actually on the mound Thursday and impressed. Join Jim Piascik as he brings you the latest from Soto and gets you up to date on the rest of the action across the globe as he takes you Around the Farm.

Given teams in the Caribbean are playing to win games -- as opposed to the minor leagues, where player development is more important -- watching the usage of players and who teams trust is instructive. For example, seeing Giovanni Soto be trusted as a starter, after not pitching extensively in that role since 2012, is a real sign of faith in the left-hander. Join Jim Piascik as he breaks down Soto’s start on Wednesday and the rest of the action from across the globe as he takes you Around the Farm.

There has been no shortage of speculation this offseason on the availability of Boston Red Sox outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, both in the national media and on this site. But as of right now, it does not appear Cleveland and Boston line up as trade partners. Last week, Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron proposed a three-team trade involving the Mariners to move Cespedes, but as Jim Piascik writes, a three-team trade involving Cleveland instead of Seattle could lead Cespedes to the corner of Carnegie and Ontario instead.

The WAR Room is back again, bringing you the 2014 advanced stats for every Cleveland minor leaguer. With the minor league seasons at an end and the seasons in review finished, The WAR Room moves to ranking the top-100 prospects in 2014 based on performance. But instead of just listing based on pure performance, there is a twist to make the rankings more relevant. Join Jim Piascik as he introduces the rankings and gives his honorable mentions in the latest edition of The WAR Room.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!